BENTONVILLE — Tom Halbmaier knows his Bentonville girls basketball team hasnt secured anything more than a trip to the Class 7A State Tournament so far this season.
The Lady Tigers, though, took two big steps this week toward a 7A/6A-West Conference championship and a first-round bye in the state tournament. Bentonville (21-2, 9-1) claimed a pair of home victories, defeating Springdale Har-Ber 55-45 on Tuesday night and holding on for a 39-37 victory Friday over Rogers Heritage.
Those wins, coupled with Fayettevilles victory Friday over Rogers High, now gives the Lady Tigers a two-game lead over the two Rogers schools with just four games left in the regular season. Bentonville also has any tiebreaker advantage over Heritage after completing a sweep of the Lady War Eagles.
Bentonvilles boys also came away with a sweep at home with victories over Har-Ber (61-51) and Heritage (55-48). Those wins, combined with Siloam Springs win over Springdale High, put the Tigers (17-6, 7-3) back into a second-place tie in the conference standings with Siloam Springs and Springdale.
PLAY OF THE WEEK: Julia Garrard blocked Ashley Wards shot before the final buzzer sounded Friday night, preserving Bentonvilles victory. It was the second blocked shot for Garrard in the closing seconds.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Garrard only scored 10 points in two games, but her presence on defense was very noteworthy. She pulled down 17 rebounds and had eight blocked shots in the wins over Har-Ber and Heritage.
Nick Smith did carry a huge portion of the Tigers offensive load. He scored 23 points in Tuesdays win over Har-Ber, then followed that with a 30-point outing against Heritage.
NOTABLE: Bentonvilles girls surpassed the number of wins they had last season with Fridays victory over Heritage. The Lady Tigers were 20-12 last season. ... Jamayne Potts drew the start Friday in place of an injured Rashaun Casey and filled in nicely with nine points, five rebounds and three assists. ... Bentonvilles boys would still be the conferences No. 3 seed if the state tournament began today.
THE LINGO: Lets give Jamayne Potts credit for starting in the place of Rashaun Casey. This kid is a warrior. This kid is a fill-in-the-blank type of player. If we say J, we need some defense, she plays defense. If we say J, we need you to go in there and score some points, she goes and scores. She really played a great game.
TOM HALBMAIER
Bentonville girls coach
UP NEXT: Bentonville travels to Rogers High for a pair of games Tuesday night, including a key rematch in the girls game. Bentonville then returns home Friday night for Colors Day against Siloam Springs.